Often, news about a television rights contract is about as interesting — or packs as much impact — as a trade of Mendoza Line utility infielders.

But as the University of Hawai'i prepares to step into the second quarter-century of its local television partnership, the deal that will carry it there bears watching.

Not just for who ends up with the next contract, though history is certainly in play there, too, but more for what the potentially far-reaching changes that come with it might mean for fans and viewers.

KHNL/KFVE (then KIKU) changed the landscape of local sports in 1984 when, on a hunch and no small amount of daring, then-general manager Rick Blangiardi brokered a partnership with UH athletic director Stan Sheriff. Though the faces and size of the checks have changed in the interim, the relationship is in its 24th year and has resulted in the airing of more than 2,500 UH sporting events. Many of the marquee moments in UH sports history have come into our living rooms through the stations' cameras and with a Jim Leahey narration.

But KFVE/KHNL's contract ends June 30 and the stations are winding up an exclusive negotiating window with UH after which the school may choose to put the rights out for bid again. KFVE/KHNL staved off the 800-pound gorilla, Oceanic Time Warner Cable, three years ago.

Whether there becomes a new "Home Team" might take a backseat to what the new package looks like. As UH associate athletic director John McNamara, who has overseen negotiations for two contracts, puts it: "All elements of the television agreement are on the table for review and discussion. What worked previously may not be in the best interest of UH moving forward."

Indeed, a lot of has happened since UH partnered with TV and a tuneup is overdue. Pay-per-view has become a fixture and ESPN, which wasn't even available in Hawai'i when KHNL started doing UH sports in 1984, now dominates the college landscape and grabbed six Warrior football games last season. And crowds are thinning significantly in the arena sports and baseball.

To deal with the changes, UH is finally looking beyond the rights fee check alone. It has been forced to ask itself if the $2.54 million (a guaranteed $1.75 million plus $794,000 for its slice of PPV) it pockets is costing it more in the long run in terms of ticket-buying fans. And where a better balance might be found.

To that end, UH was already proposing that football season ticket holders get road games either free or at a greatly reduced rate. Moreover, as UH tries to boost lagging attendance in its arena sports, there is the question of how many games is too many to show for free and how much higher the PPV tariff will go to find an equilibrium.

Those — and other — adjustments all become new athletic director Jim Donovan's call when he moves into the AD's office tomorrow.

At this point, even UH officials say they aren't sure what the final shape will look like, much less how many years it might be for.

"We'll create a television model that continues to provide revenue and exposure but also complements what we're striving for in regards to attendance and ticket sales," McNamara said. "It is a tough balance, but it is very important to the continued success of our athletics programs."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.